MANILA — The San Miguel Beermen revived their hopes for a grand slam with a 107-103 victory over the Barangay Ginebra Kings in the PBA Governors’ Cup Sunday night.

It was the Beermen’s second straight win and fifth overall against three losses, tying TNT KaTropa for fourth to fifth place in the standings.

New SMB import Terrence Watson made a huge splash in his PBA debut, leading the Beermen with 28 points, 17 boards, 4 assists, 2 blocks, and one steal. Watson was the replacement for the lackluster Terik Bridgeman who was sent packing home after just two games for SMB.

Arwind Santos led SMB’s locals with 23 points on 10-of-16 shooting, including three triples

Chris Ross dished out 20 points, five assists, four boards, four steals, and only one turnover in more than 42 minutes of play.

But it was Alex Cabagnot who ensured SMB’s victory, firing 11 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter. His clutch jumper restored the Beermen’s double-digit lead, 103-93, after the Kings launched a huge rally after being down by as many as 26 points.

The highlight of the game was the first meeting since last season’s Commissioner’s Cup between the two giants of Philippine basketball—SMB’s June Mar Fajardo and Ginebra’s Greg Slaughter. Fajardo finished with 10 points.

The loss snapped Ginebra’s seven-game winning streak. Despite this, the Kings kept their share of the lead with NLEX, both with a 7-2 card.

Japeth Aguilar was the top scorer for Ginebra with 18 points. LA Tenorio added 17, Slaughter had 16, Justin Brownlee 14, and Kevin Ferrer 11.

Alaska 102, Kia 94

The Alaska Aces stayed alive in their quest for a quarterfinals berth with a 102-94 come-from-behind victory over the luckless Kia Picanto.

The Aces won their third straight win the hard way as they had to overhaul a 10-point deficit, 67-77, at the start of the fourth quarter. Alaska thus improved to a 3-6 win-loss card. The Aces still had to win their two remaining games to at least force a tie for the eighth and last spot in the quarterfinals.

Calvin Abueva came out in “Beast” mode to lead Alaska with 26 points on 8-of-14 shooting, 15 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 steal.

Import Buck Henton tallied 20 points, 13 boards, and 7 assists. His three-pointer with 1:07 left allowed Alaska to take the lead for good, 97-94.

JVee Casio finished with 20 points on top of 7 assists in. Ping Exciminiano came off the bench to add 14 points, four boards, and three assists. Chris Banchero chipped in 11 markers.

Kia continued its freefall with its ninth straight defeat. New import Geron Johnson did most of the hard work for Kia, finishing with 39 points, 9 boards and 7 assists. However, his offensive fouls off Abueva contributed to Kia’s loss. Philip Paniamogan added 12, Nico Elorde and Mark Yee chipped in 11 markers apiece while Glenn Khobuntin had 10.

Games Wednesday: Rain or Shine Elasto Painters (4-3) vs. Phoenix Fuel Masters (2-7) and TNT KaTropa Texters (5-3)vs. NLEX Road Warriors (7-2).